Paul said…

Finding value in defence could be key to this week’s selection, with a number of big-hitting attackers going head-to-head with less-than-resilient opponents.

That has persuaded me to overlook Marcos Alonso, in spite of Chelsea’s plum home clash with Newcastle.

As the season unfolds under Maurizio Sarri, the Spaniard’s role as a left-back is curtailing his instincts to attack – indeed, Alonso is without a goal or an assist since Gameweek 11.

Patrick van Aanholt and Ricardo Pereira are the top two ranked defenders for goal attempts in the last four Gameweeks, with nine and eight respectively.

Both could also bring home clean sheets in home encounters with Watford and Southampton.

Cardiff centre-half Sean Morrison boasts a big goal threat for the visit of Fulham – his 19 shots in the box ranks third in defence.

The Bluebirds have also tightened up defensively, with three of their five clean sheets for the season arriving in the previous six.

Burnley wide man Dwight McNeil is my differential midfielder and looks a decent enabler at home to Fulham.

Costing just £4.4m, he has a goal and an assist in two appearances since being installed in the starting XI in Gameweek 20.

McNeil’s six shots and five efforts in the box both rank second for the Clarets in that period. Fulham, meanwhile, have conceded 28 goals on their travels, more than any other side.

Joe said…

Among form premium assets, Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looks the most enticing this week. He takes top spot among my forward selection as he prepares to take on a West Ham side with a solitary clean sheet in their last six Gameweeks.

Strong underlying statistics are also in his favour. Over that same timeframe, the Gunners’ marksman has notched a record 11 big chances, scoring four and assisting a further two goals along the way.

Taking my top midfield slot is Eden Hazard, who is at home to a Newcastle outfit that has conceded the third-highest number of close-range efforts over their last six away matches.

He could do particularly well if Alvaro Morata fails to recover from a hamstring injury, as most of the Belgian’s attacking returns this season have come when the Spaniard has been off the pitch.

Mohamed Salah leads our captaincy poll and should get on the scoresheet against Brighton but I’m not sure he will beat Hazard and Aubameyang’s returns. Over their last six home matches, the Seagulls have only handed opponents seven big chances: the joint-second-best tally alongside Liverpool and Crystal Palace.

Manchester City also face a resilient defence when Wolves drop by but I still think one of Sergio Aguero or Leroy Sane is worth including. While Nuno Espirito Santo’s troops have performed well against top sides, they have conceded in all seven league meetings with Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United.

Burnley and Cardiff look the best teams for bargain-hunting this week as they take on Fulham and Huddersfield respectively.

The Clarets’ backline looks particularly appealing having halved the number of shots they have faced since the goalkeeper’s jersey was wrestled from Joe Hart in Gameweek 20. James Tarkowski looks the safest option. I’ve also tentatively included Hart’s replacement Tom Heaton, even though he now faces competition from last season’s number one Nick Pope, who returned to action in the FA Cup this month following a lengthy injury lay-off.

Az said…

With the festive schedule behind me, I’m turning attention to the battle against my own team’s slide. With so many heavy hitters performing well and there existing a strong template of defenders and cheaper midfielders, I am struggling to find many gems to help make my way back up the rankings.

This week looks a potentially intriguing one with many of the top sides enjoying favourable fixtures, though there are also good-looking home games for teams such as Everton and Cardiff. I really like the look of Victor Camarasa this week, who is in fine company in my midfield selections!

Getting the right heavy hitters in your own FPL teams looks key to surviving the next few months. My top picks this week are Mohamed Salah and Sergio Aguero, the latter of whom I think is being overlooked in everyone’s clamour to get Salah. Aguero looked razor-sharp against Liverpool and should lead the line against Wolves, who do always put up a fight against the top sides but may find the challenge too great at the Etihad.

It’s hard to separate Harry Kane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. I feel as though Kane may be over-performing on his FPL points based on the matches I’ve seen him play, whereas Aubameyang has been very unlucky. I’m reluctant to take Kane out but I do think Aubameyang can do some real damage to me this week and beyond.

My defence selection looks strong and I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of these players make the final squad. Lucas Digne, Andrew Robertson and Sead Kolasinac all offer so much going forward for their respective sides, while David Luiz and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are slightly less exciting picks but both have good-looking home games nevertheless.

Peter said…

Two premium midfielders (Eden Hazard and Mohamed Salah) and two premium attackers (Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang) account for nearly half the budget this week, resulting in drastic cost-cutting measures elsewhere. My selections are therefore somewhat sullied as I scratch around at the unromantic venues of the Cardiff City Stadium and Turf Moor.

It’s an odd quirk of the fixture computer that the bottom two sides (Huddersfield and Fulham) visit two sides just outside the drop zone (Cardiff and Burnley respectively) and, despite going all-in on the pair of hosts, I must acknowledge the fragility of both the Bluebirds and the Clarets.

Nonetheless, I’ve gambled on penalty-stopper Neil Etheridge and Sol Bamba to shut out a Terriers attack with eight away goals all season. That said, Huddersfield’s far-from-irresistible force meets an infinitely movable object, with Cardiff’s the leakiest home defence in the division. I may, therefore, be relying on attacking returns from Bamba (level with Marcos Alonso with 16 attempts in the box this season) and from team-mate Callum Paterson, should he continue in his “out of position” role up front.

It’s a fairly similar story at Turf Moor, where I cross everything in hope that Burnley’s defence – almost as porous as Cardiff’s – can repel a Fulham attack which boasts just seven goals in 11 away games. Again, I may be relying on attacking returns from my defender, with James Tarkowski’s three goals leaving him behind only Shane Duffy as the top-scoring defender. I’m also hopeful that Ashley Barnes can continue his slightly improved form against Fulham’s much-maligned defence.

That at least frees up some cash for the aforementioned fab four who, at the time of writing, top the captaincy poll, suggesting I don’t need to wax lyrical about their potential this week.

Instead, I will seek to justify my selections of Lucas Digne and Richarlison, with Everton failing to record a clean sheet in the last eight Gameweeks and Richarlison managing just six shots on target during that time. What better game to bounce back from (from an attacking perspective at least) than against the Cherries, who also appear to have forgotten what a clean sheet looks like (Brighton in Gameweek 18 aside) and are haemorrhaging an average of three goals a game over the last six Gameweeks. This fixture has the smell of goals about it, and I’ve also added Callum Wilson to the squad in anticipation of a Sunday afternoon thriller.

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I've been toying with the idea of bringing him all week, but closer it gets, more I think I may ride it out. It helps that 3/4 ml competitors don't have him, so my OR may be hit if he does go mad - though I fancy my Kane/Auba (C) for next few gameweeks.

The biggest concern with Aguero is that we know he'll be rotated, City still in both cups, and the CL....and they will blank in a few GWs when the LC final is, and that bench isn't strong enough to cover it.Yes Kane could also be playing in the LC final, but we know he won't be rested in any game, and I don't see Spurs going much further in the CL.

I'm desperate for Man City cover like. There are too many players to pick from. Kdb back in the mix as well. I currently have aguero on my wildcard as he seems the most assured of starting in the premier league now xmas congestion is out the way. Kdb back should improve his output as well

I really love Aguero - he is a FPL legend and also a great player indeed. The only problem with him is that he will play most matches around 60-65mins (and city score a lot in last minitues) which doesn't make him too good cap option (not that he can't score a hattrick for that time). However if you have the money and you can afford a player of 11m who will give you probably 6-7 pts on average it is good.

I assume that's based on future England appearances, club appearances etc, but still £25m for an English player of his age is a good deal.As I alluded to earlier, him not playing a single game for Liverpool this season, and now they're out of the FA cup, wasn't really any point keeping him, which is not the case for Wilson/Tark....but yes not sure they're worth £50m either.

This was the logic I applied ahead of Wolves away and Newcastle home when removing Salah. Move could have killed off my season.

Yes he got lucky with two penalities but playing as the focal point of the attack and with only the league and Europe to focus on he's as close to essential a player as there is in the game. Otherwise watch your rank get killed if he does defy your 'logic'.

B: Son >> Sterling (c)...but then getting Salah next gw would involve a hit and also means only i could get salah is by dropping hazard...essentially i will be switching sterling for hazard over next two gw's...worth it? chelsea looking slightly off but hazard has high goal involvement

C: Save FT and do one of the following next gw- fanderson/son >> redmond/salah for free- Alonso/son >> 4.7m def/salah for free- Alonso/hazard/son >> cedric/sterling/salah (-4)..if hazard blanks

i get you, however i made a mistake in selling richarlison who i had value in and cant bring myself to have him back losing $$. Siggy is my differential pick. Mendy coming back some worries me about sane and sterling has had a rest.

I definitely cannot disagree with what you’re sayin. However,I feel wolves could be out of their depth on Monday, City will know their record and counter this. Salah can’t get penalties every week plus if they both just score 1 goal I feel sterling has more chance of bonus.

I don’t think any of them can really be considered long term starters when there’s a new manager in charge but from what I gather listening tonSaints fans is that Bednarek is the safest bet at present.

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